The councils will help the Board to form plans for the future of training within the sector and make its work more representative of the whole industry.

Julie, a former Businesswoman of the Year, has been running D-Drill for a decade after a management buyout and has long been an advocate of training and apprenticeships across the industry.

She is also on the Directors board of BuildUK and D-Drill was a founding member of the Drilling & Sawing Association.

The CITB councils will have their first meetings this autumn and will be asked to assist the Board to accurately prioritise support for key issues affecting industry within the nations.

They will also shape and influence the CITB’s business plan to address industry opportunities, pressures and priorities as well as making timely recommendations to the Board about skills issues.

Julie said: “I am delighted to take on this new role as it fits completely with the way I believe we must move our industry forward in the future.

“The training and development of our people is absolutely crucial to ensuring that the standards within our own businesses and across the whole industry remain at the very highest level.

“At D-Drill we have invested a huge amount of time and money into apprenticeships over the years and, as well as training existing staff, it’s vital that we take time to ensure that we continue to attract the next generation of skilled workers into the sector.

“We need to attract more young people and more women into construction to ensure that we have a growing, diverse workforce fit for future growth.